by Russell Atkinson

The Word god

To most,
the word god
is a mere sound in the air;
an imagined being,
existing nowhere.

To many,
the word god
is a sound in the air,
relating to a mystery,
other where.

To more,
the word god
is a sound in the ear,
an awesome concept,
cloaked in fear.

To some,
the word god,
though a sound in the air,
is a mysterious presence,
felt everywhere.

To a few,
the word god
sounds in the heart,
with a glimpse of the Whole;
they but a part.

To a rare few,
the word god
sings in the mind
with awe and wonder,
jewels to find,
beyond the earth,
with its woes and its strife,
by death and rebirth,
into the fullness of life,
and a clear seeing,
of supreme independence,
that thrills the whole being
with ecstatic transcendence.

The word god is a gong
continually sounded;
the Universe is Her song,
in which
all things are founded
in the miracle of a Oneness
with parts,
where the sound of the gong
is the beating of hearts.

 
RUSSELL ATKINSON, a retired Naturopath and teacher of Hatha and Raja Yoga, is associated with the Ramakrishna Vedanta Societies in Australia. THEAKO@WESTNET.COM.AU